Pistachio Pound Cake With Vanilla Lavender Strawberries Food

PISTACHIO POUND CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES IN LAVENDER SUGAR

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven, preheat to 325ºF (165ºC/Gas Mark 3). Grease and flour a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan.
• To make the cake: Grind the pistachios in a food processor just until they resemble flour. Be careful to not grind them into pistachio butter, though that would be delicious. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of the food processor. Pulse until combined.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium high speed until smooth, then, with the mixer still running, slowly stream in the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Occasionally stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the batter in three additions, mixing until just combined. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a rubber spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then remove the cake to a rack to cool completely.
• To make the strawberries: Combine the sugar, lavender, and vanilla seeds in a mortar and grind with a pestle until the lavender is broken up into fine bits and the sugar is fragrant. Alternately, this can be done in a food processor. Hull and slice the strawberries in half if they are small, in quarters if they are larger; combine the sliced strawberries and sugar in a bowl and stir gently. Let the berries macerate for at least 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
• To serve: Slice the cooled cake into thick pieces and top each slice with a generous spoonful of berries and their juices. Top with whipped cream. Extra cake keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for three days.

PISTACHIO POUND CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES IN LAVENDER SUGAR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
• For the cake: Grind the pistachios in a food processor just until they resemble flour (be careful not to over grind or else you'll need up with nut butter). Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the food processor and pulse until combined.
• In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium high speed until smooth. With the mixer still running, slowly stream in the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for thirty seconds after each addition. Occasionally stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extract (if using).
• With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the batter in three additions, mixing until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out of the center clean, 45 to 55 minutes (mine actually took closer to an hour and 10 minutes). Remove cake from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• For the strawberries: Combine the sugar, lavender, and vanilla beans in a mortar and grind with a pestle until the lavender is broken up into fit bits and sugar is fragnant. Hull and slice strawberries in half and combine in a small bowl with the sugar. Let berries sit in sugar for at least 15 minutes to release their juices.
• To serve: slice the cooled cake into thick pieces and top each slice with a generous spoonful of berries and their juices. Top with whip cream and devour.

PISTACHIO POUND CAKE WITH VANILLA LAVENDER STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Hull, wash, and halve the strawberries. Mix together the sugar, lavender, and vanilla beans from their pod. Toss the strawberries in the sugar and set aside in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
• Add the pistachios to the food processor and blend until it resembles flour. Be careful to not over blend or else it will turn into butter!
• Mix together the pistachio flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating very well between each addition - at least another minute. Beat in both extracts.
• Alternate between adding the flour and the milk into the butter mixture. Begin and end with the flour which should be added in three additions, while the milk should be added in two additions.
• Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 - 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes in the pan before taking out and putting on a wire rack to cool completely.
• To serve: cut a thick slice of the pistachio pound cake, then top with the strawberries and top with the whipped cream.

BUTTER-TOASTED VANILLA POUND CAKE WITH MACERATED STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, almond extract, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Leave to macerate for 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat, swirling to coat the entire pan. Add the pound cake slices and toast until lightly browned on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pound cake from the pan, swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter; and toast the pound cake on the reverse side until lightly browned, another 2 to 3 minutes.
• Place the toasted pound cake on plates and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the side of each slice. Top the slices with some of the macerated strawberries and garnish with toasted almonds. Serve immediately.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan
• In a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix for 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla; mix for 1 minute, until well blended. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until completely blended.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 8 servings

PISTACHIO POUNDCAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Prepare the cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-x-5-x-3-inch loaf pan.
• Grind the pistachios in a food processor just until they resemble coarse meal. Be careful to not grind them into pistachio butter. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and pulse until combined.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, then, with the mixer still running, slowly stream in the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Occasionally stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
• With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture, then the milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a rubber spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then remove the cake to a rack to cool completely.
• Prepare the strawberries: Combine sugar, lavender and vanilla seeds in a mortar and grind with a pestle until the lavender is broken up into fine bits and the sugar is fragrant.
• Hull the strawberries and slice in half if they are small, or in quarters if they are larger. Combine the sliced berries and sugar mixture in a bowl and stir gently. Let macerate for at least 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
• To serve, slice the cooled cake into thick pieces and top each slice with a generous spoonful of berries and their juices. Top with whipped cream. Extra cake keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.